2011 - USS Suwannee CVE-27

U.S.S. SUWANNEE CVE 27
NEWSLETTER
NEWSLETTER
2011 #1
Editor’s Note
Association Officers
President
Charles Casello
Vice-President
Bill Hunter
Secretary/Treasurer
Norm Jennewein
President’s
Message
I would first like to wish
everyone the very best for the
coming year of 2011, and say
that I hope to see you all at
this year’s reunion in Seattle.
We’ll get details out to
everyone as soon as they are
available about that.
Norm and Dot Jennewein
and their family did such a
great job with the reunion in
St. Louis. Everyone seemed
to have a great time getting
together, and the events they
had lined up for everyone
really brought forth a lot of
positive comments.
All told we had 24
shipmates in attendance, and
a total of 100 for the big
banquet on Saturday night.
As usual, we had some firsttimers, and we look forward
to seeing them again at the
2011 reunion.
Thanks, Norm, to you and
your entire family for the
great job.
Charles Casello,
President
Several families have shared photos and data files with us that are too large to
include in a newsletter, so we have placed those on the Suwannee website. To review
them, go to http://www.usssuwanne.org and click on the “Links” and “Action Reports”
options available on each page.
These include photos sent by Jan Correll of her father Frank Elshesen. Dan Hughes
provided photos of his uncle Edward R. Harrington. Mary Jo Gauthier sent photos and
logbook entries regarding her uncle James Joseph Joyce, who was killed along with
Obed Slingerland when their plane crashed on the deck of the Suwannee. Dave Kerr,
the nephew of Joe Halchak, went to the NARA II in College Park, MD and obtained
copies of a number of action report records relating to the Suwannee. Finally, Michael
Molsbergen, son of Jack Molsbergen, has provided photos of his father’s logbook,
which document some of the Suwannee’s movements after the war, including the visit
to Nagasaki.
-- Bill Reddell
P.S. If you are the “Man in the Hat” from the story on page three, let us know at
[email protected].
Killed in Action – But Not Really
My father, Claudell Bratcher, thought that Ensign Earl George was killed when they
took the last kamikaze in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, as Ensign George was blown
overboard. Dad was reported KIA by mistake by the Chaplin. It was actually one of my
father’s friends by the name of Brashear. Dad was following Brashear down to the
hanger deck when the second explosion occurred. The concussion from the gasoline
explosion killed Brashear but blew my father out to safety, only injuring his leg with
shrapnel, which he refused medical care or a Purple Heart for, although it hurt him the
rest of his life. I still marvel at the scar it left on his leg.
In the confusion after the battle, the Chaplin confused Bratcher with Brashear and
notified my grandparents of my father’s death. The Chaplin realized his mistake
immediately and told my father about it but could do nothing to inform my grandparents
that my father was alive. My father kept trying to write his parents to tell them he was
still alive but his mail came back marked “Censored,” as he was supposed to be dead.
Finally when the ship made it back to Hawaii, he ran into a guy from home and asked
him to give Melvin and Thedosia a message that “They will be getting some great news
about Claudell real soon!” Thus my grandparents found out for the first time that my
father was alive.
When he went home on his 30 day leave when the ship made it back to Bremerton,
Washington, he told my mother that he would marry her the next time he came home.
He returned to the ship after 30 days and was going up the gangplank to rejoin his
shipmates to go back to sea when he was met by the Chaplin who had made the
mistake. The Chaplin asked my father how my grandparents had taken it when they
heard that he had been killed in action. My father told him they were devastated. The
Chaplin was aware my grandfather was in poor health because he had delivered several
messages about operations he had experienced while my father was on ship.
The Chaplin told my father that he had been thinking about him for a long time and
felt bad about the mistake and he was going to give him another 30-day pass and was
going to give him shore duty for the duration of the war. Hence my father went back
home to Texas. When he first saw my mother he asked her if she was going to hold him
to his promise and she said “Yes!” Therefore, he was trapped into getting married
earlier than he had planned, in February, 1945. It only lasted 64 years. Dad was
stationed in Oakland and my mother followed him out there and worked at the base
until the war was over.
Photos from Reunion 2010 in St. Louis
Charles Casello keeping the
hospitality room running smoothly.
Cmdr. Clay Mason, a 22-year Navy
veteran, addresses the group at the
banquet on Saturday night.
Earl George visits with his niece, Margaret George.
The Gateway Arch, one of the
reunion tour stops.
http://www.usssuwannee.org
Dot and Norm Jennewein, who
hosted the St. Louis reunion.
Bill and Margie Hunter.
Cmdr. Mason poses with “The Strutters,” the St. Louis-area tap dance
group that entertained the crowd at the banquet.
Page 2
The Man in the Hat
By Mark Oser / son of Jack Oser
Waking up at 3:30 AM on
a Sunday morning to catch an early
flight to go to work throughout a
newspaper production night can
really can get a guy down;
especially when it’s a new press
start-up. Twenty-six hours on a
cement floor, press stoppages,
deafening loudness, along VP’s
everywhere. The tension at the
plant was enough to break an
anchor free from the deep depths
of its Pacific moorings, holding the
proud but punished U.S.S.
Suwannee (CVE 27) in place.
Grabbing my bags and
jumping off the car park shuttle,
for the first time in my stellar forty
seven year career in the graphic
arts trades, a proud printer, I had a
vary bad feeling about how the rest
of the day was about to roll out. I
had an attitude, and didn’t know
why. It just came over me as if the
Japanese Zeros, like flies on a
warm sunny day buzzing a food
flooded picnic table. I needed an
adjustment…an attitude
adjustment!
Dreading my task of going
through security, I slumbered
slowly in taking off my shoes,
placing my computer into the tray,
and lifting my tool laden suitcase
onto the conveyer. I just didn’t
want to be there; while noticing
numerous older gentlemen in front
of me wearing gold scrambled egg
embroidered baseball caps. They
were moving slower than me,
thank goodness, they saved me the
embarrassment of being the
slowest one in line. With their
age noted, my impatient demeanor
reversed its course, as my dad
imbedded onto me as a youngster,
“Always respect those older than
you! And most important, allow
them to mentor you if they wish.”
While aiding one of these
gentlemen, by lifting his small
meager suitcase onto the conveyor
in his behalf, I noticed a bright
silver glimmering emblem, that of
a WWII aircraft carrier, proudly
displayed above his gold laden
brim. His Pacific colored
aquamarine blue eyes said it all; “I
have seen tragedy, the likes I hope
no one ever has to see again. He
said, “Thank you”, and the little
man, hunched over by his years of
life, scuffled through security as to
denounce another strike against
our freedoms. I, in my nasty
temped mood, watched him slowly
walk away.
The plane to Dallas
departed on time, and upon
reaching an altitude of 39,000 feet,
the stewardess, over the PA
announced it was safe to move
about, and turned off the seatbelt
sign. Mother Nature was calling
due to the “five dollar” cup of
Starbucks I deluged my insides
with. I unbuckled my seatbelt,
stood-up, and headed to the closet
size bathroom towards the front of
the plane. In doing so, I felt a
heavenly caress engulf me. It was
surreal. It was a feeling of
“something” I have never felt or
experience before. I stopped,
looked over my left shoulder, and
there was the man with the navy
blue embroidered hat. He smiled
at me, and I waved back. He
motioned to me to visit with him.
I turned and slowly headed in his
direction. As I approached him,
from four rows away, that
heavenly caress engulfed me once
again, disrupting my balance, but
not making me unsteady. I felt
like I was floating, guided only by
spirit.
As I approached the man,
my eyes drifted to what was
written above the embroidered
aircraft carrier on his hat. My eyes
filled with wet emotion, my throat
dry as the desert sands, my heart
pounding from my chest, and in
“gold”, the words U.S.S Suwannee
glimmered from the suns rays as
they beamed through the aircrafts
window.
As I talked with this man,
tongue-tied like a school child, I
came to realize some very
important things not ever
considered before by this 56 year
old sole. He has seen things that
no one would want to see. He
experienced sights and sounds of
death by the hundreds; and
survived.
The man in the hat was a
hero, in my eyes, even though at
that moment they were streaming
with tears of his thoughts and
descriptions of the past, as he told
me about the attack on the U.S.S.
Suwannee in detail.
With my eyes weeping,
and my nose running, the
stewardess once again came over
the PA system saying it was time
to return to your seats in
preparation for our landing into
Dallas. An hour and a half had
passed.
As I disembarked from the
plane that unknown feeling came
upon me once again. As I turned
around I noticed the man in the hat
had just deplaned. I slowly
approached him, shook his frail
hand, and thanked the man for
sharing his story with me. And
then I solemnly said to the man in
the hat, “My father was a shipmate
of yours.”
I guess when it’s all said
and done, and at the end of that
day, I was clearly blessed with a
much needed and vary spirited
attitude adjustment that I will carry
and cherish for the remaining days
I have left in life.
###
Contacts Sought by Suwannee Relatives
Over the past few months we have had several people contact us by way of the website who are
looking for someone who might remember a relative of theirs who served on the Suwannee. If you
recognize the name of a shipmate, the relative listed next to their name would like to hear from you.
Shipmate
Shipmateʼs Relative
Contact Method
Bruce H. Austin
Ralph W. Burns
Eldred Hopper Campbell
Afton Bernard Crane
Frank Elchesen **
R. Harrington **
Esteban A. Herrera *
David Johnson
David Johnson
Leo Nelson
James Charles OʼBrien
Lonnie Mack Osborne
George Peebles
Robert Louis Pinskston, Sr.
Fred Allen Reed
Joseph Thomas Roderick, Jr.
Howard Spencer
Frank A. Urso *
Joe Austin (Son)
Ralph W. Burns, Jr. (Son)
Don Campbell (Son)
Joe Furtak (Grandson)
Janet Correll
Dan Hughes (Nephew)
Jane Herrera (Daughter-in-law)
Howard Gibbons (G-nephew)
Thomas D. Puckett (Staff)
Earlene Nelson (Wife)
Joseph M. OʼBrien (Son)
Dawn McGrady (G-daughter)
Peg Kline (Niece)
Patty Kaplan
Curt Stephan (Nephew)
Timothy I. Roderick (Son)
Mary Stilts (Daughter)
Paul Carlomagno (Son-in-law)
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
* Shipmate still living ** See photo below
Other Information
Pilot – TBF Avenger
Electricianʼs Mate
VT-27
Turret GunnerEdward
Aviation Metalsmith
“Steve”
Shipʼs Captain
Served with - Korea
Bombardier
“Charlie” – A Boxer
Chief Storekeeper
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
*** KIA
Injured at Leyte ****
Vf-60
“Whitey”
**** Reported MIA by mistake
- Taps -
Edward R. Harrington
Frank Elchesen
If you have a story about the USS Suwannee that you have not seen
before in the newsletter, please let us know at [email protected].
Don’t let the history of the Suwannee go untold.
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Fred Reed
Howard Spencer
Bruce H. Austin
Eldred Hooper Campbell
Leo Nelson
Afton Bernard Crane
James Charles O’Brien
Frank Elchesen
Claudell F. Bratcher
Charles R. Henderson
Samuel Berkowitz
Julian T. Santisteven
Thomas M. Evans
Kenneth A. Doyle
John DiGiovine
Ralph E. Feerar
Robert P. Eustace
Robert E. Dilworth
Robert Louis Pinkston, Sr.
Oscar N. Mullins
Cecil Vernon Easley
George H. Manning
Robert J. Jones
Lonnie Mack Osborne
1961
10/15/1971
12/1972
08/1977
08/11/1983
12/21/1989
02./06/1995
10/08/2008
06/05/2009
10/1/2009
11/10/2009
12/01/2009
12/10/2009
12/14/2009
01/18/2010
01/20/2010
01/31/2010
02/23/2010
03/15/2010
04/14/2010
07/02/2010
07/05/2010
07/10/2010
08/2010